These are the only existing versions of Snatcher in English. They were released in December 1994, after the PCE version and followed in the same line. They even share the same main changes: some music, the addition of the third act and some graphical updates, although some tunes were added or changed tonally against the CD-ROMantic release.

The only differences between the Sega CD and Mega CD versions of the game, are in packaging, NTSC/PAL format and one word during the ending. Mainly the manuals are very different. The American version includes the Manga that was released in the PCE version (although B/W), while the European release has all the info and illustrations included in the second manual from that same version. Other than that, the in game text is every single byte identical.

The translation is great and has excellent voice acting, a rare feature at the time and even now. They also added gun support, using the Justifier. Some minor changes were made to adapt it, like the age of Katrina and some name changes; also some scenes, like the one in which Metal and Gillian find the video tape, were removed or changed in content. One of those is the "Outer Heaven" scene, in which the customers are Konami characters, instead of general Sci-fi. Also, "Joy Division" was changed to "Plato's Cavern" (most probably for copyright issues). Because of the date the game was released, the Catastrophe was placed a couple of years later, in June 6 1996 -- instead of 1991.

A new scene of animation was added during the intro, and this is the only version that has it, in it Jamie and Gillian talk about him becoming a JUNKER. Later, this scene was rendered in 3D for the Saturn and PSX versions, although I think it looks better here, and has more significance since its got voice acting and beautiful 2d art. Such scene can also be found in the Manga included in the manuals of the PCE and Sega CD versions. The third act became more interactive, and developer staff profiles were added in Jordan (Gaudi in the Japanese version), just as in the PCE and PC-88 versions, but with a lot of differences. I highly recommend getting this one (although it can be a bit expensive) even if you don't have a Mega/Sega CD, since it is well supported by emulators.

Since the game's release, a certain trick has circulated all media. It states that by typing "KONAMI" at JORDAN, you can unlock an uncensored version of the game. So far (after more than 10 years) it's unconfirmed if it actually does change something. It does make a chime though. (It is most likely just the remnant of a cheat that was removed from the final product, since most likely the game was to be released censored)

Special thanks go to Scott T. Hards for the translation, Kevin O'Donohue for doing the US manual and Jeremy Blaustein who supervised and co-translated the version (He also translated Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill 2 a couple of years later, and now works at WordBox).

Here is a list of differences that Takamichi and Marc Laidlaw kindly pointed out, compared to all the other versions. I made some notes and added links to explain what is being referred in the text.

More Study on Sega/Mega CD Version of Snatcher

May 17, 2006 by Marc

I'm pretty sure the following joke was taken out of the English version of Snatcher. When you go to Gibson's house in Act 1 and talk to Katrina, she tells you this in the Japanese versions:

Katrina: Alice is our dog. Dad named her after Mom...after she died. We used to have two dogs at first. The other one was called Telece, but she died... We used to call them "Alice and Telece". Kinda funny, don't you think?

Now, Alice and Telece is an old Japanese TV show for kids. In Japanese, it's "arisu to teresu". The thing is, this is also the same way the Japanese pronounce the name Aristotle, so there's a pun in there. I'm guessing they took it out (if I remember right and they did) because I just can't see any way you could translate this joke to English (plus most people outside Japan haven't heard of the show).

Another reference is how she says "nihiki awasete arisu to teresu to yondetano" (literally) - "we used to call the two of them Alice and Telece." This is similar to the line from the show "Arisu de--su. Teresu de--su. (together)Futari awasete arisu to teresu de--su!" "I--'m Alice. I--'m Telece. And we aaare - Alice and Telece!"

Notes:

Nihiki refers to the count of two small animales, in contrast Futari refers to two persons, contributing a bit more to the joke.

Jan 2, 2003 by Takamichi

This version still provides two commands "look" and "investigate". As you know, these two commands don't have much crucial difference, so they are integrated in PSX and Sega Saturn versions.

When Mika takes Gillian around in the HQ for the first time, she says that Cunningham is "Big Boss of here". This MG-like explanation is not used in any of the Japanese versions.

Video tape scene in Joy Division (3) is snipped too carelessly. As you know, in some other versions, Metal Gear tries to read it, which happens to be a porn, and he gets so excited he deletes its contents and makes Gillian sorrow.

"Neo Kobe Pizza" translation is a large leap from original "Neo Kobe Yaki" (4), which probably is a ball of dumpling.

"Mr. Big", someone who is only mentioned by Napoleon as "boss of drug trafficking", is also mentioned in this version, but is nonexistent in PSX and Sega Saturn versions (maybe my memory is incorrect).

I don't think the food in Alton Plaza is "Ramen", it's supposed to be "Udon", which is said to resemble "tamarilles" in Italy. Also, this part of translation does not pun with Blade Runner dining scene. Jeremy either did not notice, or he evaded copyright transaction problem that would arise. (6)

When Katrina is having a bath, there is no bra or panty on the floor, unlike other versions.

One of the improved scenes; Katrina's nipples beneath towel are not visible in other oversions.

Gillian's "He was just a little too clever this time..." comment on the piece of paper in a Gibson's house model; I personally disagree with Jeremy on this part. I took it "Metal Gear, you have too wild imagination that you think 'search the house' also referred to this paper other than PC68".

QueenS hospital??

Metal Gear in Queens hospital says he's good at "Chop suey and wanton" the Chinese food, not the mahjong terms.

Snatcher, Policenauts, Boktai, Zone of the Enders, Anubis and Metal Gear are registered trademarks of Konami Co. LTD. Konami is a registered trademark of Konami Co. LTD. All work presented here is but mere fan work.